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In Which We Get Serious for a Moment

Here’s a speed-round of questions to accompany the noon whistle, after a brief sermon that I hope you will accept in the spirit it’s given.

Q.

My husband and I are lucky to have wonderful friends who have invited us to their house for dinner at 6 p.m., but I am used to spending the day rushing around the kitchen, elbow-deep in stuffing. The house just doesn’t smell right! Do you have any suggestions for making the day more Thanksgivingy? — LRS, upstate New York

A.

Yes, I do, if you’ll excuse a rare moment of seriousness. My suggestion is to see if there’s anywhere you can spend the day helping to feed others, perhaps at a local soup kitchen or church or senior center.

People say our economy is coming back. But for great swaths of upstate New York that’s not even remotely the case, and there are thousands of people across the region who are hurting, and who may go hungry today. There are working people, too — police officers and firefighters and the staffs of emergency rooms and newspapers and taxi fleets — for whom you might stop in with treats and offer thanks for their hard work on this day. Using this simple electronic form that the USO has on its Web site, you can even thank our nation’s troops for their service and for the incredible sacrifices they make on our behalf.

Finally, there are the lonely, who will eat in silence in the chill dimness of the one diner open in this town or that one, before going home to stare at the television, or the flat gray sky. Why not buy them the meal, and bring a moment of fellowship into their lives on a day that ought to mean fellowship above all other things? Do so anonymously if you can, slipping some bills to the counterman with a whispered explanation — the point is not to make yourself feel better about Thanksgiving, but to make someone else feel better about it. And then, when you get to your friends’ house this evening, you can give thanks again, for all of those you’ve thought about today, and helped.

Q.

I made my cranberry sauce last night — typical recipe — and just looked in the refrigerator, and it didn’t gel! It’s been in the refrigerator for 12 hours. What can I do? — Linda, New York, N.Y.

Q.

Hi Sam — the cranberry sauce is still not completely jelled and it sat in the fridge overnight. Suggestions for next year? — Dena Davis, Cleveland

A.

Folks, I’m not sure you really want a cranberry sauce that’s completely jelled, unless what you really want is a canned cranberry sauce, which is completely jelled and a different thing entirely. (Though no less delicious in its way.) Taste what you have. If you like it, that’s your cranberry sauce. If someone complains that it’s not jelled, you can say, “That’s because it’s cranberry sauce, not cranberry jelly.” If you think what you have is too tart and runny, you can always put the berries back on the stove and add more sugar. That’ll lead to some firmness eventually, promise.

Q.

Ummm…are you serious about this whole “help line” thing? Because suddenly, the middle child (who is accustomed to rolling out of bed in time to watch the bird submit to the knife) is in charge of the kitchen. Long story. So I ask you, where is the Cornbread Dressing with Sage recipe? I’ve got to get cracking! (Yes, the cornbread is made, and properly en-stalen-ed. That, at least, is done.) Thank you. — Cherlita, Luverne, MN

I’m cooking solo for my two guests this evening. I plan to make a few reasonably simple sides: roasted potatoes, glazed carrots, and haricots verts with roasted fennel and shallots. Can I make one (the carrots?) or more ahead of time (I already made the cranberries), or should I just put my head down and scramble at the end while the turkey rests, when I also need to make gravy? If I can get a jump on things, what’s the best way to warm up dishes before serving? — Riva Richmond, Brooklyn

A.

What’s your oven situation? You making those taters alongside the bird? That’s what I would do if I had the space and wasn’t, you know, spending the day in a cube answering questions from readers. I’d roast the fennel ahead of time, too, and maybe blanch the beans and then dump them into ice water to arrest the cooking process, so that they’d be good to go at the end in a sautee pan, after the gravy’s finished. And you can certainly glaze those carrots now, and heat them through later. About which: warm oven, warm stovetop, lots of covers and foil. Everything’s going to be great.

Q.

Eek, I opened my fridge this morning and it’s 51 degrees. My turkey is cold, but not as cold as it should be. If it’s cooked thoroughly, are we safe from food poisoning? — Judy, Siesta Key, Fla.

A.

Time for a new fridge, Judy! Better drive over to Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte tomorrow, make yourself some Black Friday deals. That said, my guess is you’re okay with the turkey today. You were defrosting it, yes? My assumption is that even if the ambient temperature was 51 degrees, the temperature of the bird was less than that. But get it in the oven tout sweet!

He is right as he is about so many things, but my guess is that Dan Barber, the executive chef at Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, didn’t actually tell you to cook that bird at 500 degrees for 2 hours. (Maybe his brother David did? I kid!) If you’re into high-wire acts, I think maybe 450 makes more sense. Check the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh after a couple of hours and remove from the oven when the temperature registers 170°F on the meat thermometer. Then let the bird rest for 30 minutes or so. Or remove some stress from your life and cook low and slow. That’ll work, too, and you probably won’t scorch the skin of the bird. Thanksgiving is about family. Hang out with them.